Tomorrow — September 11 – marks the 25th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, which resulted in the deaths of 2 983 innocent men, women and children.
It was a day that changed America, and indeed plunged the world into a global war against terror that still rages today. Millions of people in America and around the world can remember exactly where they were when they first heard of the tragic events unfolding in America on that pivotal day. Yet, according to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, an estimated 100 million Americans born since 9/11 — roughly a third of the US population — have no personal, lived memory of September 11 2001. Schools and museums in the US are working on initiatives to educate the next generation about the shock of that day and about extraordinary acts of courage and compassion that emerged from the tragedy as first responders and everyday citizens showed remarkable selflessness.
- Click banner for more info -
Gospel launch pad
That terrible day also became a launch pad for a powerful Gospel initiative that is still bringing hope in Jesus around the world today. Interviewed by Kristy Graham of Samaritans Purse, Preston Parrish who was ministering to those who were hurting on Ground Zero after 9/11, shares how this happened. He said Rev Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association saw the need to minister to hurting people on the ground and recruited a team of volunteers to do this work over a period of weeks.
Preston said when they arrived in New York City dust, smoke and the stench of death filled the air and people were walking about in a daze looking for loved ones. Some bodies buried under rubble were only found weeks and months later.
He said the people they ministered to included police, firefighters, first responders, construction workers. “We were there basically to listen to people, to pray with them, to offer them the comfort of Christ, to share Scripture with them, and to help them practically however we could. But mainly just to be there as somebody who knows what it is to stand on the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ, which will not be shaken by any storm in this world. And to be a fixed point, as it were, for people for whom there seemed to be no fixed point anymore.”
Birth of a global ministry
He said that what they started on Ground Zero was just the beginning of where God took this ministry. A few weeks later, when people died in a night club fire in Rhode Island they were asked to send people to comfort people there just as they had done in New York. From those beginnings was born the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team that sends crisis-trained chaplains to situations of pain around the world — “to care for and minister to them and help them to know the love of God and the salvation of Christ”.
“At this particular moment I think they’re probably deployed in 10 places — everywhere from flood zones in the United States to countries overseas where there’s war.
“And if you think about it, that’s what Jesus did. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He came as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. So we’re daring, in His name, to enter into situations of pain, not because we can bear those things, but because our Lord Jesus has, and has overcome them through His resurrection from the grave.
“And that is the greatest thing we can tell anybody. Jesus not only addressed the cause of this pain and suffering by shedding His blood and dying on the cross for sin — He conquered it. God raised Him from the dead, and He’s never going to die again. And He holds the keys of death and hell, and He’s coming back to make everything right. And He wants us to belong to Him.
“And so that’s what the Rapid Response Team does. And in the days since the Rapid Response Team was first organised, they have now deployed to more than 960 disaster situations. They’ve one-to-one prayed with more than 850 000 people and have recorded over 40 000 people responding to the Lord’s gracious invitation to trust Him and be saved.”
Tens of millions hear Gospel
Preston said another key moment of ministry following 9/11 happened after President George W Bush declared September 14 to be a National Day of Remembrance with a service to be held at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. Franklin Graham’s father, the late Billy Graham, who was viewed by many as America’s pastor, gave the keynote message at that service.
“And as only he could on that day, he offered comfort. He offered the hope of the Scripture. And in a crowd that was mixed, that was multi-faith, he boldly and uncompromisingly declared the Gospel.” That Gospel message was streamed around the world reach an audience estimated to be in the tens of millions.
During the service, Franklin Graham stood outside the cathedral with a CNN television crew who had asked him to provide “colour commentary”. Preston recalled that Franklin Graham used that global streaming opportunity to declare the name of Jesus repeatedly.
Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:
>> Donate >> Become a Super Subscriber
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100
COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.
